» Time Is Dancing « | » Carl Grimes «

» BOUNTY PT.2 «

Mission Kinda-Possible

I startled when the infirmary door clicked open, Alden stepping in with Heather holding onto his hand tightly. He stopped in front of me after shutting the door behind him.

It took less than a second for me to bring him close, my arms wound over his shoulders in a tight embrace. "I'm sorry." I whispered in his ear. As soon as Lydia had gone I headed straight to the infirmary in my blind frustration, trying to take some time to think.

The entire situation was so much more overwhelming than I wanted, maybe because I took it so personally. It was such a shock that my decisions had such meaning now, and anything I chose could mean someone's life or death. Of course I was glad Alden and Luke returned safely, but sending Lydia away just didn't seem right to me, no matter the price.

"It's okay. I get it." He pulled back, meeting my eyes earnestly. He broke away, his gaze drifting down to my daughter as he ruffled her hair affectionately. "I just came to drop the kid off. She was asking for you."

"Thanks." I smiled as he left, bending down to Heather's height. Her fingers were at her mouth, nervously fumbling with her bottom lip. "Sorry I didn't pick you up from school, baby. I was just...thinking."

She brushed off my apology with a shrug, something else clearly on her mind. "I picked some pretty flowers." She showed me the bunch grasped in her tight fist. "Can we take them to Uncle Glenn?"

I nodded softly, taking her hands as we left the infirmary. She was so excited, tugging my arm with all her strength as we got closer to the gravesite. She eventually just let go, her little legs taking off towards him.

"-and then there were some people outside but mom sent them away. Enid said the weird girl went with them, so maybe we can see them again sometime." I heard her mumbling joyfully when I knelt down beside her. I watched her fingers curling around the dirt as she spoke, staining her shorts and the paper in her hand. "I drew Aunt Maggie and Hershel today because we don't have any new photos, so you know what they look like-"

Her words became distant as my mind began to wander. I couldn't help but feel like I was disappointing my family, but Glenn most of all. He was the one who saved me from my old life, after all, the one who taught me that family didn't always mean blood. It felt like an insult to his memory to do the opposite thing he did and send Lydia back to that life. I had been so desperate to leave and I could imagine she was, too. In fact, I would've done just about anything.

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"Night, mom."

"Night, baby." I whispered softly, shutting Heather's bedroom door behind me.

"Belle?" I turned at Addy's worried voice, seeing her standing there with a crumpled paper in her hands. She looked down at it before passing it over, her fingers fumbling with nerves. "I found it in Henry's room."

"Thanks, Addy." I dismissed her, my attention on the note in my shaky hands.

'Couldn't live with it. Went to find Lydia.'

His words felt like the final push I needed, the thing that made me realise exactly what I needed to do. And it started with packing my backpack full of gear and supplies. Of course, I would never leave my sword behind.

With my hat pulled firmly over my eyes and a note of explanation slipped under Enid's door, I silently stepped out of Barrington house. There was just one thing I had to do first.

The barn ladder scraped against the wood as I climbed it, Daryl sitting up with his back on the wall. He looked deep in thought, only breaking out of his trance when he heard me approaching.

The letter floated from my fingers to his lap as I tossed it. "Henry's gone." I explained, sitting beside him without another word. Even when he finished reading it, I felt hesitant to speak my mind. It took a while, a silence filled with impatient sighs and knees curled up to my chest.

"You know, when Glenn found me, it took me a long time to realise he kinda saved me. He taught me so much when he didn't need to, he was just that type of person." My voice was low, almost a whisper to stop it from trembling. "He showed me a new way of life at the camp in Atlanta, and I honestly think if someone told me that I had to go back- to my parents and Tennessee and my sister- I would've rather died right then and there."

Daryl stayed quiet, his fingers at his lips as he chewed the nails. I could see the distance in his eyes as my words bounced around his brain, like he could feel it too. If it wasn't for Glenn then the two of us would've never met.

"That life, the bad one, that's exactly what we just sent Lydia back to." I continued, the guilt weighing inside me. My voice broke as I kept going. "If it was my kid going through that...I can't imagine it. I learned how to be a good parent from you, and from Glenn. And as a mother, I know that Lydia needs help."

His persistent silence was aggravating me, his eyes never meeting mine. Maybe it was too painful for him to remember, because he understood Lydia and myself in a way that he never wished for. But I thought that made him a worse person for ignoring it.

I got to my feet with a huff, my eyes narrowed in disappointment. I really hoped he would be on my side. "I'm going to get them back. I'm leaving now whether you come with me or not, but I hope you do. Because I know you know what it's like to be her, to be me."

I turned to the ladder, my feet on the first wrung as I hesitated. My eyes were stinging but I ignored it as I faced him, the first tears forming.

"Would you be able to go back?"

With those words he stood up, slinging his bag and crossbow over his shoulder and following me down the ladder. I felt a swell of pride in my chest as we marched towards the gate together, the only sound being his whistle as he called for his dog.

I spotted a figure outside, my eyebrows furrowing with confusion seeing as it was the middle of the night. As we got closer I recognised Connie, her fingers scribbling quickly on a pad of paper. She seemed to notice us, too, as she leapt from her seat and raced towards us.

'Where are you going?' She asked, her expression urgent. Daryl didn't speak, only handed her the note from Henry as an explanation. She nodded slightly, her hand scrawling with the pen again. 'I'm going with you.'

Daryl wasn't so sure, making to leave as he brushed past her but I could see the pleading in her eyes. I knew she couldn't live with it, either, and that was something we needed out there. I had already seen the way she saved that baby today, and her experience outside would always be useful.

I gave her a reassuring smile, nudging her arm to get her attention. "Let's go." And that was all she needed to join my side, catching up to Daryl as we set out in our mission.

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Daryl and Connie are my literal faves I would give them the world

Belle is doing this for Lydia, and now for Glenn, but maybe there's someone else involved that she hasn't mentioned yet (someone influential enough for her to risk her life and the lives of her community)

Q: Who's your fave from Magna's group?
A: Mine started off as Magna and Yumiko, but by season ten it surprisingly switched to Luke, Connie and Kelly